Is the End Finally Here for Incandescent Light Bulbs?
GE has announced the closure of their last U.S. incandescent light bulb factory, which was located in Lexington, KY.
This is mostly due to new federal legislation calls for a switch to energy-efficient bulbs, making incandescent lights obsolete. “Market decline for incandescent types of bulbs has accelerated with governments around the world setting new standards for efficiency,” said Roy Wilson, general manager of GE’s North America Lighting Manufacturing in a written statement.
Now, there will be three types of bulbs to replace them: Compact fluorescent lights (CFL), light-emitting-diode lamps (LED) lights and MR16 halogen bulbs.
Compact fluorescent lights, which use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, are increasingly replacing Thomas Edison’s original invention on the market.
LED lights have been sold at Home Depot and a few other locations are starting to take hold in America. Although an LED will produce roughly the same amount of light per watt of electricity as a compact fluorescent, its advantages are that is fully dimmable and lasts longer than incandescent bulbs.
MR16, which are usually halogen, are only slightly more efficient than a standard incandescent and too small to allow for a fluorescent version. They do not fit into existing lighting fixtures, as they have two small metal pins and a flat face no more than a few inches across, these are mostly used in accent lighting in kitchens or retail stores.
Thomas Edison’s incandescent bulb lasted over 130 years, an amazingly long success for any technological invention. Dozens of new lighting methods, systems, discoveries and inventions will surely come and go over the next century.
Out with the old; In with the new. What will lighting be in 2110? I can only imagine it will be more powerful, more ubiquitous and more efficient.
